NEW YORK–WestPoint Home cut its second-quarter net loss by one-third and posted its lowest sales decline in some time.
The net loss totaled $16 million in the quarter, compared to a $24 million net loss in the second quarter of last year. Net sales reached $86 million, 10.4 percent less than in the 2008 second quarter and a significant improvement over the 26 percent drop in first-quarter sales and the 40 percent decline in sales for all of 2008. WestPoint helped its bottom line by reducing selling, general and administrative expenses by 21 percent and improving gross margin by 29 percent in the quarter.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about the quarterly results, Icahn Enterprises, WestPoint’s parent company, said WestPoint is continuing to restructure its operations as it deals with the difficult retail economy. For these reasons, Icahn Enterprises said it anticipates that WestPoint’s bottom line will remain red throughout the rest of fiscal 2009.